Taiwan Monopoly Regulator Fines Qualcomm More Than $770M

"Qualcomm has been fined more than $770 million by Taiwan’s anti-monopoly regulator," the San Diego Union Tribune (Oct. 11, Freeman) has learned. The Taiwan Fair Trade Commission announced the fine Wednesday following an investigation that started in the first quarter of 2015. It comes after South Korea's anti-monopoly regulator issued a $900 million fine against the San Diego wireless giant last fall. In addition, this past January, the U.S. Fair Trade Commission filed a lawsuit against Qualcomm for its business practices around patent licensing. "Qualcomm has appealed the South Korea fine and is fighting the U.S. Fair Trade Commission action," notes the newspaper. Meanwhile, it remains in a legal battle with Apple over patent licensing, with Qualcomm contending that Apple has pushed regulators to pursue the company. Apple counters that charging royalties based on the smartphone price enables Qualcomm to profit from innovations that its cellular technology has nothing to do with.